# My attempt to grow tobacco



## GJProductions (Aug 2, 2009)

I bought some Cuban tobacco seeds from this site (Cuban Havana Tobacco Seeds) and I thought I would give them a try. I am growing them in my dorm to make my room look more lively. I don't expect them to grow too big because it is going to be winter and I am in the middle of Boston. I would like to get a few wrappers out of this plant because I expect it to grow like it would in the shade. I am not sure of the humidity in my room but we keep the temperature around 70 degrees and it sits next to the window where it can get sunlight. I have read a lot from the tobacco birthing thread, but I was still wondering if there is any advice that would help me make a nice tobacco plant.


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## Jimbo57 (Aug 15, 2009)

Somehow, this brings back memories of Carlin's Toledo Window Box. For us old-timers here anyways! You may want to reconsider growing that thing in the window. Sooner or later, some idiot is going to report ya'll for illicit plants! 

Hum, Boston Dorm Shade Wrapper.... Beantown Window Shade!! HaHa, good luck.


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## inanevoyage (Oct 12, 2009)

Wow, how funny!

I just had a smoke by that statue the other day. Onyx Reserve.

You go to Suffolk, then?


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## GJProductions (Aug 2, 2009)

inanevoyage said:


> Wow, how funny!
> 
> I just had a smoke by that statue the other day. Onyx Reserve.
> 
> You go to Suffolk, then?


Yes I do, It is a great location.


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## roughrider (Feb 25, 2008)

Looks like a fun experiment. Good luck and keep us posted.


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## RobustBrad (Oct 20, 2009)

Good luck on your stash. Suffolk is a great school, friend of mine went to law school there.

Cheers,
Brad


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## ca21455 (Jul 23, 2006)

Check this website out: SS-AGR-73/AA260: Growing Tobacco in the Home Garden

Good luck on your project!


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## Stench (Aug 17, 2009)

I had a roommate in college who tried something similar....only they weren't tobacco plants! Good luck with your project!


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## RobustBrad (Oct 20, 2009)

Stench said:


> I had a roommate in college who tried something similar....only they weren't tobacco plants! Good luck with your project!


Hilarious!

Cheers,
Brad


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## rottenzombie (Jun 11, 2007)

Stench said:


> I had a roommate in college who tried something similar....only they weren't tobacco plants! Good luck with your project!


Hmmmm  :rofl:


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## Slaterstogies (Sep 23, 2009)

nice! good luck man hope to see some pictures in the future to see how its going 
thanks:eric


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## DaReallyPoGigolo (Aug 27, 2009)

Learn to roll cigars and we might all be buying "Havana de Boston" one day!


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## Demasoni (Sep 17, 2009)

Pretty cool! It's so amazing how tiny they start off and how huge they grow.

If I could get my hands on some seeds I'd definitely plant them in my back yard, my fathers soil here is very fertile. He grew a grapvine a few years ago, and the grapes taste VERY sweet, better than anything from the fruit market.


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## dubels (Jun 21, 2009)

Demasoni said:


> Pretty cool! It's so amazing how tiny they start off and how huge they grow.
> 
> If I could get my hands on some seeds I'd definitely plant them in my back yard, my fathers soil here is very fertile. He grew a grapvine a few years ago, and the grapes taste VERY sweet, better than anything from the fruit market.


Hey,
tzaddi (Richard) is being very generous and sending me some seeds to help me get started. I am sure there will be more than I need so I will be willing to pass some on along to you. This thread and his thread got me thinking about growing my own the past few days. Thanks GJProductions for the inspiration, it lead me to reading all 30 pages of tzaddi's thread.

BTW Cichlids are awesome I just can't justify starting a third tank for them. Right now I have a dwarf puffer tank and a shrimp tank going. A cichlid would happily destroy both tanks.


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## PinkFloydFan (Oct 1, 2009)

Didnt those bastards at the school include Tobacco growing information in "The Guide to Residence Life" near your plant bucket? 

WTF are you paying good money to go to school for anyway. 
That is the least can teach you. 

LOL

Good Luck bro 8)


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## Stinkdyr (Jun 19, 2009)

I live in Boston too. I would love to try a cigar rolled from your leaves once ready. Keep me posted!


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## inanevoyage (Oct 12, 2009)

I'm feeling the Boston love. All those in favor of a herf say I! OP is hosting lol


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## Cypress (Jun 27, 2007)

I really hate to burst your bubble but for that amount of seeds that you dropped in your pot it will not be successful. Tobacco plants grow big. I mean over 5 feet tall. My wife is 5'-4" and we were in the Dominican Republic.










For those who have not seen any seeds this is what the size are.


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## NineTenSooted (Sep 23, 2009)

Wow...very nice.


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## GJProductions (Aug 2, 2009)

Cypress said:


> I really hate to burst your bubble but for that amount of seeds that you dropped in your pot it will not be successful. Tobacco plants grow big. I mean over 5 feet tall.


haha yes I know but I am also growing them in a New England winter and therefore I doubt my plant will grow over 3 feet.

I also intend on taking out most of the sprouts that are in my pot. I did not know how many would sprout and I only intend on having one plant. I was thinking that I can give away my sprouts to anyone in the Boston area. If anyone wants some of my sprouts to experience with on their own send me a pm. I only need one plant so I want the other sprouts to go to a good home and not the trash.

These are the sprouts up to this point. I can't wait to get a nice plant going!

One question I have, do the tobacco plants give off an odor?


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## GJProductions (Aug 2, 2009)

Update: The sprouts have not grown much like I expected. I have been watering them daily and they are staying between 60-70 degrees. I think the main problem is that they have not been getting enough sunlight, unfortunately I can't do much about that. I still have a bunch of sprouts if anyone wants to pick some up. I really need to get rid of them soon because I need to pick one sprout to concentrate on and there are far too many in the pot.
SAVE A TOBACCO PLANT, haha


I can't wait to see it grow larger.


I gave Stinkdyr some sprouts, How are they doing Nat?


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## Stinkdyr (Jun 19, 2009)

Hi Glen,

Thanks again! They are growing well. Leaves look about as big as yours in this pic. Mine is right beneath a skylight, so it gets plenty of sun.....when the sun happens to shine...November in Boston is not exactly Vuelta Abajo!

:smoke2:


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## jeff_connors (Mar 20, 2009)

I grew tobacco this season and am now waiting for my harvest to dry. I had really good luck this year and allowed 3 of my plants to seed. It winter here now so I decided to test grow the seed I harvested. The germination rate was crazy. Alomst 90%!!!!! All I did was plant in African violet mix ,keep at 70degrees and keep them lit under a daylight cfl bulb for 14hours a day.

Some tip for growing your transplants

1. Don't water every day ,tobacco is a heavy feeder but when starting the seedling it is beatifical to water 5 or 6 out of the 7days. If you let the surface soil dry out a bit the seedling will be forced to grow deeper roots to search for water,thus you get a good root system going. Water from underneath the plant pot to encourage good root growth, spray the seedlings every now and avian with a small mist of water to keep the leaves strong. 

2. When your seedlings get a little bigger if possible set up a fan to blow a slight breez agaisnt the seedlings, move the position of the fan every day. This will strethen the stems of your seedlings so the wind does not beat the hell out of them when you transplant them,.

3. If your going to smoke the tobacco watch how you fertilize too much nitrogen will make your tobacco ub smokeable


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## ongreystreet (Nov 3, 2008)

I am making an attempt this year. I am still doing some work as to when I will start the process. I am in a condo with a small porch, so we'll see how it goes. Not so worried about the planting and growing process, as everything I've read says it's not the most difficult plant to grow, but I am very concerned about the curing process. I will simply air cure in some sort of small structure I build on my porch. The seeds I bought are for Virginia leaf, for pipe smoking.


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## GJProductions (Aug 2, 2009)

Well..... I had a little problem....

I came home from my dorm this semester and I brought my plant back along with me. Today I woke up and saw this.... mg: Apparently my cat has a taste for fresh Havana seed tobacco, hahahaha

I think the plant will survive but those leaves will probably be cut off and given to my cat to make way for new leaves to grow in.

Any ideas? (rather than keeping my cat away from my tobacco)


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## Windigo (Oct 3, 2009)

That's pretty cool. A legal grow op hehe


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## dinoa2 (Feb 7, 2008)

keep t he receipt for the seeds when campus police or the real guys come by to ask questions.


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## Stinkdyr (Jun 19, 2009)

Buy your cat a box of cheap cigars to chew on!

btw, the plant you gave me is growing like wild.
It had a few days of wilting when I ignored it and forgot to water it.
But it has sprung back to life with a good drink.


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## GJProductions (Aug 2, 2009)

Stinkdyr said:


> Buy your cat a box of cheap cigars to chew on!
> 
> btw, the plant you gave me is growing like wild.
> It had a few days of wilting when I ignored it and forgot to water it.
> But it has sprung back to life with a good drink.


Very good, who said you can't grow tobacco in a new england winter? hahaha


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## Trev (Nov 4, 2009)

GJProductions said:


> Well..... I had a little problem....
> 
> Any ideas? (rather than keeping my cat away from my tobacco)


make up a little hot pepper / nicotine spray and give the plants a mist each day until your cat decides they're not so tasty after all.


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

Does that website sell cuban dirt too? If so, we could be onto something here. 

Hang the cat.


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## allisa (Nov 17, 2009)

Right now I am in India and during the weekend we always goes for a long drive in ruler areas. There we can see a lots of farms where they grow up tobacco. I have not personal experience for this but I had seen it many times. They saw it during the summer season.


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## storm_rider_1 (Dec 19, 2009)

My local garden supply store has some plants growing in a organic hydro mix in there front window as a display, it was pretty cool to see the tobacco plants up close. Ever since i saw them, it is something i would like to try, good luck with your grow.


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## Nurse_Maduro (Oct 23, 2008)

Jimbo57 said:


> Somehow, this brings back memories of Carlin's Toledo Window Box.


LMAO! I was thinking the same thing, Jimbo!!

Nice start, Glen. You might want to get some hydoponics set up and get it away from the street view though...lol


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## dennis569 (Jan 16, 2007)

check out this website, 
'grow your own tobacco.com"
I grew a few outdoors this past summer. They only got about 5 feet tall
but had huge leaves.
Grew them in composted horseshit. They should be tasty!


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## Tarks (Mar 3, 2009)

Herf N Turf said:


> Does that website sell cuban dirt too? If so, we could be onto something here.
> 
> Hang the cat.


I could bring some home for you! lol. I can see it now.

Customs officer: What is that sir?
Tarks: Dirt.
Customs officer: Dirt?
Tarks: Yup dirt (With a big grin)


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## SigalaCigars (Dec 24, 2009)

Additional Info!
Growing is half of the process!
Harvesting is a 4 step process, to get the right leaves for the cigars.
The correct Temp and Humidity need to be controlled as well during the drying period
Too quick to dry and low RH will result in Green Dry leaf.

Then they have to be fermented to rid the tobacco of Ammonia.
and to smooth and develop the right body. 

Do a search for tobacco seeds, A distributer in Miss has a new variety
TA79 Florida Sumatra
We think we have found our favorite cigar tobacco plant! If we could only grow one type for cigars, this would be it. Makes excellent wrapper, filler and binder. A large plant producing a bountiful harvest of blemish free tobacco leaves. Air cured leaves produces an excellent smooth flavored cigar. 
Check out Otoao Cigars for everything you need to roll!


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## inanevoyage (Oct 12, 2009)

Any update on this?


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## Stinkdyr (Jun 19, 2009)

Here is how my plants that Glen gave me are growing.

The biggest leaves are about as big as my hand.


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## Herficionado (Jun 19, 2009)

Wow, those are nice!!


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## jolyrogger (Jan 7, 2010)

this is a cool idea.. thinking i might want to try this out soon..


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## gibson_es (Jan 23, 2010)

yea. i think ima do this this summer. do the cuban seed and the florida sumatra listed about. and then when rolling time comes..... lol.


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## LightsOut (Mar 7, 2009)

Watch out for beetles!!


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## sinkable (Feb 15, 2010)

Good luck

Hey, I call dibs on the second cigar you produce!! 

Of course you get the first!


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## jaydub13 (Jan 13, 2010)

Tarks said:


> I could bring some home for you! lol. I can see it now.
> 
> Customs officer: What is that sir?
> Tarks: Dirt.
> ...


ROFL!!! that would be fantastic! God knows they would find some way to make that illegal. Might label it "fertilizer" and have TSA throw you in the clink...


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## gibson_es (Jan 23, 2010)

lol. yea. if you dont have writin permission from a land owner for that dirt, then they will say it was government proporty, and that you stole it from the cuban government. then toss you im jail...

...of coarse he is canadian so he dont have to worry too much...


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## s_vivo (Jan 31, 2010)

Herf N Turf said:


> Hang the cat.


+1

and here is a good read for what's involved....

http://www.cigarforums.net/forums/vb/general-cigar-discussion/265300-rarest-cigar-world.html

Hopefully it's not as dramatic.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

I found this about it.
Grow Roll Smoke - How To Grow Tobacco At Home


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## Stinkdyr (Jun 19, 2009)

Ok, so I harvested my plants at the end of Sept. And now they are hanging to dry, in my apt. I am not confident about the fermentation stage....


hwell:


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## Soft Top (Jul 29, 2010)

Looks promising. Looking forward to the finished product.


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## xJaCkSlApx (May 7, 2010)

Stinkdyr said:


> Ok, so I harvested my plants at the end of Sept. And now they are hanging to dry, in my apt. I am not confident about the fermentation stage....
> 
> hwell:


now the good part wait one year for curing and aging !


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## Russell Pta (Jun 28, 2010)

Stinkdyr said:


> Ok, so I harvested my plants at the end of Sept. And now they are hanging to dry, in my apt. I am not confident about the fermentation stage....
> 
> hwell:


my indoor ones always looked like that. they do so much better outside but sometimes it just isnt an option. i got my first batch too moist and it mildewed. the ones i just hung like that stayed green because they dried too fast. maybe you could put a pail of water under them? next year im going with a small plywood hut


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## Turtle (Aug 24, 2010)

This is pretty cool! Keep us updated on this process.


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## Tritones (Jun 23, 2010)

Stinkdyr said:


> Ok, so I harvested my plants at the end of Sept. And now they are hanging to dry, in my apt. I am not confident about the fermentation stage....
> 
> hwell:


Try Googling "tobacco curing" - I think that's what I searched a few months ago. I saw some pretty good articles on how to dry and cure small quantities of tobacco. The challenge is to get - and keep - the heat and moisture at the right levels. Commercial curing is done in large batches that build up heat on their own as they compost a bit. Smaller amounts don't have enough mass to get the process going or to keep it up. So, you can build a box that keeps conditions at about 120 degrees and 70 (I think) percent humidity.

EDIT: Also - drying has to be done at the right RH also, so the leaves lose the right amount of excess moisture at the right speed. They need to dry soft, not crunchy.


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## Zogg (Aug 31, 2010)

if you need about 70rh and 120 degrees - why not heat up a tubodor and hang em in there!


i want to try this at some point now


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## Tritones (Jun 23, 2010)

Zogg said:


> if you need about 70rh and 120 degrees - why not heat up a tubodor and hang em in there!
> 
> i want to try this at some point now


As I recall, that was pretty much the procedure, although I think they used a styro cooler to hold the heat better.


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